John 9
New Living Translation
Jesus Heals a Man Born Blind
9 As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man who had been blind from birth. 2 “Rabbi,” his disciples asked him, “why was this man born blind? Was it because of his own sins or his parents’ sins?”
3 “It was not because of his sins or his parents’ sins,” Jesus answered. “This happened so the power of God could be seen in him. 4 We must quickly carry out the tasks assigned us by the one who sent us.[a] The night is coming, and then no one can work. 5 But while I am here in the world, I am the light of the world.”
6 Then he spit on the ground, made mud with the saliva, and spread the mud over the blind man’s eyes. 7 He told him, “Go wash yourself in the pool of Siloam” (Siloam means “sent”). So the man went and washed and came back seeing!
8 His neighbors and others who knew him as a blind beggar asked each other, “Isn’t this the man who used to sit and beg?” 9 Some said he was, and others said, “No, he just looks like him!”
But the beggar kept saying, “Yes, I am the same one!”
10 They asked, “Who healed you? What happened?”
11 He told them, “The man they call Jesus made mud and spread it over my eyes and told me, ‘Go to the pool of Siloam and wash yourself.’ So I went and washed, and now I can see!”
12 “Where is he now?” they asked.
“I don’t know,” he replied.
13 Then they took the man who had been blind to the Pharisees, 14 because it was on the Sabbath that Jesus had made the mud and healed him. 15 The Pharisees asked the man all about it. So he told them, “He put the mud over my eyes, and when I washed it away, I could see!”
16 Some of the Pharisees said, “This man Jesus is not from God, for he is working on the Sabbath.” Others said, “But how could an ordinary sinner do such miraculous signs?” So there was a deep division of opinion among them.
17 Then the Pharisees again questioned the man who had been blind and demanded, “What’s your opinion about this man who healed you?”
The man replied, “I think he must be a prophet.”
18 The Jewish leaders still refused to believe the man had been blind and could now see, so they called in his parents. 19 They asked them, “Is this your son? Was he born blind? If so, how can he now see?”
20 His parents replied, “We know this is our son and that he was born blind, 21 but we don’t know how he can see or who healed him. Ask him. He is old enough to speak for himself.” 22 His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders, who had announced that anyone saying Jesus was the Messiah would be expelled from the synagogue. 23 That’s why they said, “He is old enough. Ask him.”
24 So for the second time they called in the man who had been blind and told him, “God should get the glory for this,[b] because we know this man Jesus is a sinner.”
25 “I don’t know whether he is a sinner,” the man replied. “But I know this: I was blind, and now I can see!”
26 “But what did he do?” they asked. “How did he heal you?”
27 “Look!” the man exclaimed. “I told you once. Didn’t you listen? Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become his disciples, too?”
28 Then they cursed him and said, “You are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses! 29 We know God spoke to Moses, but we don’t even know where this man comes from.”
30 “Why, that’s very strange!” the man replied. “He healed my eyes, and yet you don’t know where he comes from? 31 We know that God doesn’t listen to sinners, but he is ready to hear those who worship him and do his will. 32 Ever since the world began, no one has been able to open the eyes of someone born blind. 33 If this man were not from God, he couldn’t have done it.”
34 “You were born a total sinner!” they answered. “Are you trying to teach us?” And they threw him out of the synagogue.
Spiritual Blindness
35 When Jesus heard what had happened, he found the man and asked, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?[c]”
36 The man answered, “Who is he, sir? I want to believe in him.”
37 “You have seen him,” Jesus said, “and he is speaking to you!”
38 “Yes, Lord, I believe!” the man said. And he worshiped Jesus.
39 Then Jesus told him,[d] “I entered this world to render judgment—to give sight to the blind and to show those who think they see[e] that they are blind.”
40 Some Pharisees who were standing nearby heard him and asked, “Are you saying we’re blind?”
41 “If you were blind, you wouldn’t be guilty,” Jesus replied. “But you remain guilty because you claim you can see.
Footnotes
- 9:4 Other manuscripts read I must quickly carry out the tasks assigned me by the one who sent me; still others read We must quickly carry out the tasks assigned us by the one who sent me.
- 9:24 Or Give glory to God, not to Jesus; Greek reads Give glory to God.
- 9:35 Some manuscripts read the Son of God? “Son of Man” is a title Jesus used for himself.
- 9:38-39a Some manuscripts do not include “Yes, Lord, I believe!” the man said. And he worshiped Jesus. Then Jesus told him.
- 9:39b Greek those who see.
John 9
Tree of Life Version
Bringing Light to the Blind
9 As Yeshua was passing by, He saw a man who had been blind since birth. 2 His disciples asked Him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he should be born blind?”
3 Yeshua answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned. This happened so that the works of God might be brought to light in him. 4 We must do the work of the One who sent Me, so long as it is day! Night is coming when no one can work. 5 While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”
6 Having said these things, He spat on the ground, made mud with the saliva, and spread the mud on the blind man’s eyes. 7 He told him, “Go, wash in the Pool of Siloam” (which is translated Sent). So he went away, washed, and came back seeing.
8 Therefore his neighbors and those who had seen him as a beggar kept saying, “Isn’t this the one who used to sit and beg?”
9 “This is the one!” some said.
“No, but it looks like him,” said others.
But the man himself kept saying, “I am!”
10 So they asked him, “Then how were your eyes opened?”
11 He answered, “The Man who is called Yeshua made mud, rubbed it on my eyes, and said to me, ‘Go to Siloam and wash.’ So I went away and washed, and then I received my sight!”
12 “Where is He?” they asked him.
“I don’t know,” he said.
13 They bring to the Pharisees the man who once was blind. 14 Now the day was Shabbat when Yeshua made the mud and opened the man’s eyes. 15 So again the Pharisees were asking him how he received his sight. He responded, “He put mud on my eyes, and I washed, and I see!”
16 So some of the Pharisees began saying, “This man isn’t from God, because He doesn’t keep Shabbat!” But others were saying, “How can a sinner perform such signs?” So there was a split among them.
17 Again they say to the blind man, “What do you say about Him, since He opened your eyes?”
And he said, “He’s a prophet.”
18 So the Judean leaders didn’t believe that he had been blind and received his sight until they called his parents. 19 They questioned them, “Is this your son, whom you say was born blind? Then how does he see now?”
20 Then his parents answered, “We know that this is our son and that he was born blind. 21 We don’t know how he now sees, nor do we know who opened his eyes. Ask him—he’s old enough. He will speak for himself.” 22 His parents said this because they were afraid of the Judean leaders. For the Judean leaders had already agreed that anyone who professed Yeshua to be Messiah would be thrown out of the synagogue. 23 That’s why his parents said, “He’s old enough—ask him.”
24 So a second time they called the man who had been blind and said, “Give glory to God! We know that this man is a sinner!”
25 The man replied, “I don’t know whether He’s a sinner. One thing I do know is that I was blind, but now I see!”
26 So they asked him, “What did He do to you? How did He open your eyes?”
27 “I told you already and you didn’t listen!” the man responded. “What, do you want to hear it again? You don’t want to become His disciples too, do you?”
28 They railed at him and said, “You’re a disciple of that One, but we’re disciples of Moses! 29 We know that God has spoken to Moses; but as for this fellow, we don’t know where He is from.”
30 The man replied to them, “That’s amazing! You don’t know where He is from, yet He opened my eyes! 31 We know that God doesn’t listen to sinners; but if anyone fears Him and does His will, He hears this one. 32 Since the beginning of the world, no one has ever heard that anyone has opened the eyes of a man born blind. 33 If this man were not from God, He couldn’t do anything.”
34 They replied to him, “You were born completely in sin, and you’re teaching us?” And they threw him out.
Is Seeing Believing?
35 Yeshua heard that they had thrown him out. Finding him, He said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?”[a]
36 The man answered, “Who is He, Sir? Tell me, so that I may believe in Him!”
37 Yeshua said, “You have seen Him—He is the One speaking with you.”
38 He said, “Lord, I believe!” And he worshiped Him.
39 Yeshua said, “For judgment I came into this world, so that those who don’t see may see, and the ones who do see may become blind.”
40 Some of the Pharisees who were with Him heard Him say this and asked, “We’re not blind too, are we?”
41 Yeshua said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no sin. But now you say, ‘We see.’ So your sin remains.”
Footnotes
- John 9:35 Some mss. say the Son of God (Ben-Elohim).
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Tree of Life (TLV) Translation of the Bible. Copyright © 2015 by The Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society.